Apparatus for filling bags



Feb. 15, 1955 c. w. VOGT APPARATUS FOR FILLING BAGS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 20, 1952 INVENTOR. CLARENCE W. VOGT 9M C. 4/: ATTOENEY- Feb. 15, 1955 c. w. VOGT 2,702,150

APPARATUS FOR FILLING BAGS Filed May 20, 1952 5 SheetS-Sheet 2 FIG. 2.

AZZ v 425 INVENTOR. CLARENCE W. VOG'I'.

BY CB2: W 7

4/: ATTOE/VM Feb. 15, 1955 cjw, VOGT 2,702,150

APPARATUS FOR FILLING BAGS Filed May 20, 1952 v 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Z? Flea.

INVENTOR. CLARENCE W. VGGT .J 4/5 ATTDQNEYS Feb. 15, 1955 c. w. VOGT 2,702,150

APPARATUS FOR FILLING BAGS Filed May 20. 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. CLARENCE W. VOG'T.

Ali ATTORNEYS Feb. 15, 1955 c. w. VOGT 2,702,150

APPARATUS FOR FILLING BAGS Filed May 20, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR. CLARENCE W4 VOGT.

United States Patent I O APPARATUS Fort mums mos Clarence W. Vogt, Norwnlk, Conn.

' Application May 20, 195:, Serial No. zssnss .4 Claims. tcl. 226-51) This invention relates to apparatus for filling and closing bag assemblies, more particularly, to a machine adapted for filling and closing bags which are connected together in a chain as by one or more flexible tapes extending lengthwise of the bags as disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 38,477, filed July 13, 1948, now Patent No. 2,647,680. This application is a division and part-continuation of my co-pending application Serial No. 46,057, filed August 25, 1948', now Patent No. 2,664,238, for Bag Assemblies."

The filling and sealing of nonrigid containers such as bags formed or lined with flexible material and particularly thermoplastic films, such as cellophane," Saran,"

polyethylene or Pliofihn," with a measured quantity or weight of material, involves a cost of packaging often disproportionate with respect to the cost of the material being packaged, unless these operations can be performed automatically at a relatively high rate of speed and with a minimum of supervision and handling.

Where end folded bags of the above type have flaps or other extra material integral therewith and utilized to aid in the opening of the mouths thereof for filling, and are also used in sealing the bags to form airtight, moistureand waterproof containers, such flaps add materially to the cost and weight of the bag where thousands of bags are to be filled, and the added weight increases the expense of handling and shipping.

One object of the present invention is to provide a bag filling machine which will utilize a connecting tape of a chain or series of bags to advance said bags automatically from a source of supply therefor to the bag filling position of the machine without requiring manual manipulation of said bags.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine in which bags connected lengthwise in a chain may be advanced through the machine, opened, filled with a measured quantity or weight of material, closed and sealed, freed from each other and thereupon delivered from the machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ma made of the volume of the bag with but the minimum of material required to fabricate the same. 7

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the above type which will utilize a connecting tapeadjoining the bags, for supporting such bags, for cooperating to open the mouths thereof to facilitate rapid filling, and for advancing the bags through the machine so that they may be filled and sealed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the above type which is fully automatic in operation, will operate at a relatively high speed, is compact and rugged in construction, functions with a mini mum number of operating parts none of which is delicate or apt to become out of order, is capable of continuous operation for long periods without attention, and has its working parts readily accessible for maintenance and repair so that the cost of upkeep is low.

In a preferred embodiment herein chosen to illustrate my invention means are provided to effect step-by-step movement of a chain of bags connected by two lengths of tape and move said bags past said operating stations, which function only after each intermittent movement 2,702,150 Patented Feb. 15, 1955 ice 2. and when the; bags are stopped at said operating stations.

The operations performed at said stations include the opening of the bag, the char ing of the latter with a predetermined amountfor we t of material, the stripping away of one of the connecting tapes, the sealing of the open mouth of the loaded bag, the stripping away of the other of the. connecting tapes and the ejection of the loaded bags from the machine.

in the accompanying drawings there is shown only one of the various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention:

Figure l'is a fragmentary side elevational view of the apparatus partly in cross-section;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the apparatus partly in cross-section taken along line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, taken along line 33 of Figure 1;

' Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the bags;

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view of two bags in superposed relation;

Flgure 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of another embodiment of the bag;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing a modified form of the invention;

t Figure 8 is a fragmentaryv view in perspective showing the manner in which the bags of Figure 7 are conveyed to the filling spout; and

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing a further modified form of the invention.

Although various types of cams, gears and sprocket wheels or other mechanisms may be employed for operating the constituent eiements of the machine in timed relation, and there are many possible ways of driving them from a motor, or other source of power, a particularly desirable arrangement is shown in the drawings.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, the machine comprises a frame 11 at the upper end of which is mounted a substantially L-shaped bracket 12, the vertical leg 13 of which is secured to frame 11, for instance, by screws 14.

Bracket 12 has a downwardly extending fiange or panel 15 at the free end of its horizontal portion 16 to a sprocket wheels 22 and 23. The sprocket wheel 22 is connected by a chain 24 to a sprocket wheel 25 which is afiixed to vertical shaft 26 which controls the filling mechanism (not shown), to discharge a fixed quantity or weight of material from hopper27 through outlet nozzle or spout 28.

Sprocket wheel 23 is connected by a chain 29 to a sprocket wheel 32 affixed, as by set screw 33, to a vertical stud shaft 34 rotatably mounted and secured at its upper end 35 ina bearing 36 in the horizontal portion 16 of bracket 12..

The lower end 37 of the shaft 34 has a bevel gear 38 aflixed thereon by set screw 39, said gear 38 meshing with an associated bevel gear 41 aflixed on a transverse shaft 42 and rotatably mounted on the frame of the machine.

Shaft 42 also has a disk 43 aflixed thereto which forms part of a Geneva drive mechanism. This gear 43 has a finger 44 projecting radially from the periphery thereof to which is affixed a laterally extending pin 45, the latter coacting with the notched rim of a drive disk 46 affixed by set screw 47 to transverse shaft 48. The latter is journaled at one end as at 51 in a bearing 52 in frame 11 46 so that four complete revolutions of disk 43 are required for one complete rotation, in intermittent degree steps, of shaft 48 to which disk 46 is afiixed. It is, of course, to be understood that more or less notches could be provided in disk 46 depending upon the rate of output desired for the machine.

Also mounted on shaft 48 and aflixed thereto by set screw 61 is a gear 62 which meshes with an associated gear 63 afiixed by set screw 64 to a hollow transverse shaft 65. The latter is journaled at one end in a bearing 66 in frame 11 and near its other end in a suitable bearing 67 provided in bracket 54, and there is provided a heating element 70 positioned in the bore of shaft 65.

Shaft 65 also has affixed thereon by set screw 68 a large gear 69, as well as a cam platc.71, the latter having a plurality of cam surfaces 72, illustratively three in number, on the periphery thereof. Also mounted on shaft 65 is a drum 73, having a plurality of projections serving as sealing surfaces 74, illustratively three in number, extending radially from the periphery thereof and aligned with cam surfaces 72 as is clearly shown in Figure 1.

Rigidly affixed to filling device 18 and projecting therefrom is a bracket 81 to the free end of which is pivotally mounted a sleeve 82, through which extends an actuating rod 83. One end of rod 83 has a roller 84 mounted thereon which rides on the periphery of cam plate 71 as is shown in Figure l. -A coil spring-l5 is secured at one end as at 86 to the rod 83 and at its other end 87 to the sleeve 82, thereby normally resiliently urging said rod through said sleeve to retain the roller 84 against the periphery of cam plate 71.

The free end 79 of rod 83 is pivotally connected as at 88 (Figure 3) to a lever 89, the latter having a hub 91 at its free end in which is atfixed a transverse rod 92. The free end of the latter is rigidly connected as at 93 to one wall of a substantially U-shaped pouring funnel 94, the latter being pivotally mounted on the outlet 28 by laterally extending studs 95 rigidly affixed to the side walls of the funnel and positioned in openings 96 therein, the funnel 94 straddling the outlet 28 for the purpose hereinafter set forth.

Gear 69 meshes with a gear 97 affixed by set screw 98 on hollow transverse shaft 99, the latter having a heating element 80 positioned in the bore thereof. Shaft 99 is journaled at one end in a bearing 101 in frame 11 and near its other end in a bearing 102 provided in a laterally extending bracket 103, the latter having a vertical leg 104 affixed to frame 11 by screws 105.

The end 100 of shaft 99 extends beyond bearing 102 and has a drum or roller 106, atlixed thereon as is clearly shown in Figure 2, roller 106 having a peripheral groove 107 therein, as well as an indexing pin 108 extending radially outward from the surface thereof.

Gear 97 on shaft 99 meshes with an idler gear 111 afiixed by set screw on a transverse shaft 112, the latter being journaled at one end in bearing 113 in frame 11 and at its other end in a bearing 114 provided in bracket 103.

Idler gear 111 meshes with a gear 115 afl'ixed by set screw 116 to transverse shaft 117, the latter being journaled at one end in a bearing 118 in frame 11 and near itssother end 119 in a bearing 121 provided in bracket 10 The end 119 of shaft 117 extends beyond bearing 121 and has a drum or roller 122, affixed thereon, the latter having a peripheral groove 123 therein aligned with peripheral groove 107 in roller 106, as well as an indexing pin 124 extending radially outward from the surface thereof and aligned with pin 108 on roller 106.

Gear 115 through meshed pinions 125 and 126, drives a gear 127 affixed on a transverse hollow shaft 128 rotatably mounted on the frame 11 as is shown in Figure l. Shaft 128 has a heating element 130 positioned in the bore thereof and carries a drum or roller 129 and which is aligned with rollers 106 and 122.

Roller 129 also has a peripheral groove 131 therein (see Fig. 3), which is positioned to the left of the groove i' n'rlpllers 106 and 122 for the reason hereinafter set Positioned between rollers 106 and 122 and mounted on frame 11is an inclined table 135 having parallel side walls 137 which serve to guide the bags being filled. A second inclined table 138 mounted on frame 11 is also provided toguide the filled bags onto a conveyor belt 139 which discharges the bags from the machine.

The machine above described is adapted for automatic operation in the filling of a chain or series of bags such as 141 and 141'.

One of such be 141 is shown in Figure 4 and has opposed inverted p eats 142 along the side edges thereof and the bag 141' as shown in Figure 6 is of the pillow case" type with parts corresponding to the bag of Figure 4 having the same reference numerals primed.

As shown in Figure 4'the bottom of the bags are closed by folding over the lower end portion 143 thereof and sealing such folded ends. The bags are spaced apart endwise and connected, preferably by two longitudinal tapes 144 and 145, which extend lengthwise of the bag, one on each side thereof. The tapes are preferably laterally offset as shown in Figures 4 and 5 so that in rolling the chain of bags on a roller 147, the strips will not be superposed. Such superposing would cause a bulge in the center of the roll and reduce the number of bags which would be put on a single roll.

In order to provide for proper indexing of the bags when they are fed through the machine in the manner hereinafter described, tape 145 is desirably provided with a plurality of openings 146 therein positioned in the space between the bags to receive indexing pins 108 and 124 as will hereinatfer be described.

The bags may be of paper or similar material in which case they are provided at their openends with inwardly facing surfaces formed of, or coated with, a sealing material which may be of non-tacky latex which will seal upon closing of the mouth of the bag and application of pressure thereto, or of a thermoplastic film so that when heat and pressure are applied, the mouth of the bag will be closed and sealed.

The thermoplastic material may be in the form of strips extending along and around the inner surface of each bag at its mouth or the bags themselves, as illustratively shown herein-may be made of a thermoplastic material. Sheets or tubes of a heat sealing cellophane such as made and sold by Du Pont, Pliofilm" such as made and sold by Goodyear, films of a polyvinylidene chloride such as made and sold by Dow Chemical (30., under the trade-mark Saran, and polyethylene such as sold by Plax Corporation and Visking Corporation, are suitable materials for the bags.

Some thermoplastic material such as films of polyvinylidene chloride greatly shrink when subjected to such heating as will permit heat sealing. If such shrinkable material be employed in making the bags, a stiffening strip is preferably applied along or over the mouth portion, and which will adhere to the Saran and prevent the latter from shrinking during sealing of the bags. Such stiffening strips may be applied to the outer surface of each bag mouth prior to or at the time the heat and pressure are applied to soften and stick the layers of Saran" and bag walls together.

It is to be noted that the making of the entire bag of thermoplastic material is preferred where the bags are to be filled with material which is to be non-porous so as to protect the contents from dirt, dust or moisture.

The tapes 144 and 145 which join the bags are preferably spot sealed by adhesive material to the bags only near the upper end thereof as shown at 161 and 162. There are many types of materials that could be used for the tapes thus, for example, if the bags as well as the tapes are of paper, a coating of non-tacky latex could be applied to each, which would only adhere when in contact, or if a thermoplastic bag was used, the tape could be of the type known as Scotch tape which could readily be sealed on the bag. Preferably, as illustratively shown herein, the tapes are of delayed action thermoplastic coated paper of the type put out by the Nashua Gummed and Coated Paper Company under the trade-marks Thermo-kote or Pervenac which tapes are activated by heat and then applied under pressure. The characteristics of this material is such that the sealing surface of the tape will be non-tacky and non-adhesive when cold and when reactivated by heat will become tacky and remain so for a period of time up to several hours.

Thus, after the tapes have served their purpose, the

temperature at the sealing area may be raised to the required degree to soften the adhesive and thereupon the tapes may be peeled oil to free the individual'filled and sealed bags.

in the form of the invention shown in Figures 7 and 8 the bags that are used to form the sequence or chain are removed from a stack 201, such as that illustrated in my co-pending application Serial No. 49,277, filed September roller 202, which is journaled upon a hinged bracket 203 and is maintained in proper position with respect to the adjacent bags of the stack 201 adjusted positioning rod 204.

The band 245 moves over roller 222, back-up roller 206 and between rollers 270 and 271. The band 245 also,

'at its lower extremity passes around a roller 205 that is journaled upon a swinging bracket 206 and maintained in proper position with respect to the adjacent band 244 by means of an adjustable arm 207. The band 245 may be provided with a plurality of apertures 245 which are engaged by driving pins 222 and 206' carried by the respective rollers 222 and 206.

The rollers and related tape driving, bag filling, and bag closing mechanism may be driven by the mechanism illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3, and in order that the bags may be removed from the stack 201 and properly positioned with respect to the bands 244.and 245, adhesive spots may be applied to the bands, the adhesive being of any suitable form such as pressure-sensitive or thermoplastic adhesive. In order to accomplish this, a suitable fountain of adhesive is shown at 208, and by means of a circulating system applied to the surface of the roller 273. This surface is formed with a doctor blade 210 removes the adhesive from the surface of the roller, permitting it to remain within the pockets 209. In this fashion spots of adhesive 211 are applied to the band 244, and these spots, coming in contact with the bags in the stack 201, remove these bags successively and advance them upwardly, as illustrated in Figure 7.

The band 245 is also preferably provided with adhesive spots from a fountain 212, the surface of the roller 270 being provided with one or more pockets 213 and doctored by means of-a doctor blade 214, thus causing one or more sequences of spots of adhesive 215 to be applied to the band 245.

As illustrated in Figure 7, the rollers 222 and 227 are spaced farther apart than the rollers 202 and 205 and, as

a result, upward movement of the bands 244 and 245 bethe bags 241 to be tween these pairs of rollers causes opened so that, beneath the filling chute 94, the uppermost bag is completely opened and filled, as illustrated in Figure 7, and hereinabove described. The band 244, at this point, abruptly departs from the bag to which it is adhered, and the adhesive spots 211 are thus ruptured,

permitting the bag to travel with the band 245 and to be closed by the pressure members 74, as hereinabove described.

With reference to Figure 9, the mechanism is similar to that illustrated in Figures 1, 2,'and 3, except that, instead of providing two chaining members 144, 145 only the one chaining member 145 is utilized. In thisconnection the bags may either be assembled in the roll form illustrated with one chaining member 145, or the second chaining member 144 may be removed by means of the roller 127 when the chaining member 145 is peeled from the roll. The bags 141 move upwardly with the chaining member 145, and the bags, when in the filling position, are opened by means of a suction cup 216 connected to a suitable source of suction pressure by means of a'tube 217. The suction cup may be moved back and forth suificiently to cause the suction to engage the adjacent walls of the bags 141 and then move them into the positionshown in solid lines in Figure 9. The mechanism for moving the suction cup is illustrated at 218 and is actuated by the rod 83.

7 Operation The operator, when setting up the machines of Figures 1, 2, and 3 for operation, unrolls a length of the chain of thermoplastic bags from the roll 147 which is mounted on shaft 150.' The tape 145 is positioned in the groove 123 in toilet 122 with indexingpin 124 in an opening 146 in the tape The tape is then passed over table 135 and around roller 106, being positioned in the green 107 by means of a suitably therein with-indexing pin 108 extending through another opening 146 in the tape. Tape 144 which is identical with tape 145 except that it need not have an opening' 146 therein, is positioned inlfhe groove 131 in roller 129 and passed around said ro er.

In order positively to pull on tapes 144 and 145 to ensure the passage of the bags through the machine, two pairs of take-up rollers 170, 171 and 172, 173 are provided associated with tapes 144 and 145, respectively, and gripping such tapes. The rollers are operatively connected by a suitable transmission (not shown) with shaft 48 and will rotate in timed relation along with said shaft.

The hopper 27 is filled with the material to be discharged in to the bags and the heating elements 70, and 130 in shafts 65, 99 and 128, respectively, are energlzed in order that they may heat sealing surfaces 74 and rollers 106 and 129, respectively.

Motor M which will rotate continuously is thereupon turned on to begin the automatic operation of the machine which is as follows.

' Rotation of motor M and shaft 19, driven thereby, will rotate sprocket wheel 23 and through sprocket chain 29 and sprocket.wheel 32, drive shaft 34. This will rotate bevel gear 38 which, in turn, drives bevel gear 41 to rotate shaft 42 and disk 43 thereon in a clockwise directron.

As disk 43 rotates, pin 45 will engage oneof the four notches 57 .in drive disk 46 at each complete revolution of disk 43, thereby stepping drive disk 46 through or one-quarter of a revolution. Thus shaft 48 to which drive disk 46 is affixed will also move one-quarter of a revolution in a counterclockwise direction, as will gear 62 affixed thereon.

Gear 62 which meshes with gear 63 on shaft 65 will thereupon rotate the latter in a clockwise direction along with drum 75, and gear, 69 thereon.

Gear 69 which meshes with gear 97 on shaft 99 will rotate the latter in a counterclockwise direction along with roller 106 aflixed on said shaft. Gear 97 through idler gear 111 mounted on shaft 112, which gear 111 meshes with gear 115 on shaft 117, will rotate the latter in a counterclockwise direction, along with roller 122 thereon.

Gear 115 through pinions 125 and 126, which latter pinion meshes with gear 127 on shaft 128, will rotate the latter and roller 129 thereon, in a clockwise direction.

At the same time as shaft 48 rotates, take-up rollers 170, 171 and 172, 173 which are operatively connected thereto will also rotate to pull on tapes 145 and 144, respectively, to move the bags carried thereby to the opening, filling and sealing stations.

7 It is to be noted that with the indexing pins 108 and 124 in upright position, as shown in Figure 1, and in opening 146 in the tape, a bag 141 at position A will be directly below the funnel 94 of the filling machine and mouth of the bag will be pulled open.

With bag 141 at position A, roller 84 on rod 83 will be against the low portion of the rim of cam 71 and hence lever 89 will have pivoted rod 92 so that funnel 74 will be in pouring position as shown in full lines in Figurel.

The filling mechanism (not shown) in filling device 18 which is driven by sprocket wheel 27, sprocket chain 24, sprocket wheel 25 and vertical shaft 26, is timed to function through conventional timing mechanism (not shown) only when funnel 94 is in pouring position and will deliver a fixed charge at such time.

As shaft 65 rotates through the transmission heretofore described, the cam surface 72 will abut against roller 84 to move rod 83 so that funnel 94 is pivoted to closed position as shown in dot-and-dash lines in Figure 1, while at the same time the filling mechanism in filling device 18 will not be activated.

At the same time take-up rollers 170, 171 and 172, 173 will be driven to pull on tapes 144 and 145. As roller 129 has been heated by the heating element and as the thermoplastic spot seal 161 which is of relatively .small size, is against said roller, the activated tape will become tacky and as, the tape 144 is wound around'roller 129, it will peel off the bag if the tape is coated with a delayed action" type of thermoplastic.

In order to revent the activated tape from sticking to roller 173, the latter may be coated or covered with a silicone coating to which the actuated thermoplastic will not adhere.

As'tape 145 is pulled by rollers 170, 171 itwlll draw the filled bag from the filling station beneath the outlet 28 up inclined table 135. The bags are so spaced on the tape that a 90 revolution of the shaft 48 through the transmission heretofore described from the Geneva drive mechanism, will move the bag from station A to station B where the mouth of the bag will be against heated roller 106 and will also move an empty bag from posttion C to the filling station at position A while at the same time opening said bag. The sealing members 7 4 on drum 73 are so spaced thereon that when the bag is against roller 106 one of the sealing members will have closed the mouth of the bag and be exerting pressure thereagainst. As both the roller and sealing member are heated, the mouth of the thermoplastic bag will be sealed and the activated spot seal 161 of tape 144 to said bag will become tacky.

At the same time rod 83 will have been retracted by cam 71 to move funnel 94 to pouring position and the filling device 18 will eject a charge of material into the empty bag at position A.

As shaft 48 makes another 90 revolution under the drive from the Geneva drive mechanism, tape 144 will move the bag from the sealing station at position B onto table 138 at the same time moving the filled bag from the filling station at position A to position B and moving an empty bag from position C to positionA.

It is to be noted that as tape 145 is drawn around roller 106 and bag 141 is discharged onto table 138 the activated spot 162 on tape 145 will peel away from said bag to free the latter from the tape.

The operation of the forms of the invention illustrated in Figures 7, 8, and 9 will be readily apparent not only from the drawings, but in view of the foregoing explanation.

Although two tapes are shown applied to bags 141, tape 144 could be dispensed with and the bag opened for filling by applying a suction cup to the free side of the bag or by blowing air into the mouth of the bag or by any other suitable means. In such case, roller 129 and take-up rollers 172, 173 and their actuating means could be dispensed with.

It is also within the scope of this invention to dispense with the heating elements entirely and use self-stick material for the spot seal of the bag to the tapes and also for the mouth of the bag. This self-stick material requires only pressure for sealing and of the tape thus coated also may readily be peeled off a correspondingly coated spot on the bag in the same manner as previously described with respect to the actuated thermoplastic tape but without the use of heated rollers.

It is also within the scope of this invention to use short strips or tabs, similar to those shown at K of Figure 3 of my co-pending application Serial No. 38,477, filed July 13, 1948, now Patent No. 2,647,680, but with the strips or tabs joining the bottom of one bag with the top of an adjacent bag to form a chain of bags, and removing such tabs after they have served their chaining function, or leaving them on for convenience in packing multiples of the filled bags in shipping containers, leaving the latter severance to be accomplished by the dispenser.

Although in the embodiment of the invention herein shown and described, an intermittent drive is utilized, it is,,of course, to be understood that the Geneva drive mechanism could be disposed with and a continuous drive utilized. In such case it would only be necessary properly to time the machine so that the feeding device and sealing members would operate'at the required time. As the application of such a drive mechanism, in view of the disclosure herein made is readily apparent, no further description thereof will be given.

The machine herein can operate for many hours without supervision requiring as it does only an adequate supply of material and bags, and as there are but few operating parts, the possibility of breakdown is remote thus increasing the efiiciency and hence the output of the machine. a

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without-departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter con- 1. A machine of the character described for filling prefabricated bags connected together in a chain by a pair of longitudinal tapes, one on each face of said bags, said machine comprising means for advancing said tapes and the bags connected thereto, means engaging and coacting with said tapes for moving them apart and successively opening the mouths of said bags, and means in the path of movement of said bags and adjacent to said engaging means for delivering predetermined amounts of material to said bags in succession.

A machine of the character described for filling prefabricated bags connected together in a chain by a pair of longitudinal tapes one on each face of said bags, said machine comprising means for engaging said tapes and advancing the latter and the bags connected thereto along a predetermined path, means along said path coacting with said tapes to hold said bags upright and move the tapes apart to successively open the mouths of said bags, means in the path of movement of said bags and adjacent to said coacting means for delivering predetermined amounts of material to' said bags in succession, means adjacent to said material delivering means for removing one of said tapes from said bags, and means spaced along said path from said material delivering means for successively closing said bags after they have been filled and said last named tape removed, by pressing the mouth walls thereof together.

-3. A machine of the character described for filling prefabricated bags connected togetherin a chain by a pair of longitudinal tapes one on each face of said bags, said machine comprising means for engaging said tapes and advancing the latter and the bags connected thereto along a predetermined path, means coacting with said tapes to hold said bags upright and successively to open the mouths of said bags, means in the path of movement of said bags and adjacent to said means coacting with said bags for delivering predetermined amounts of material to said bags in succession, means adjacent to said delivering means for removing one of said tapes from said bags, means spaced from said delivering means along said path for successively closing said bags after they have been filled and said last named tape removed by pressing the mouth walls thereof together, and means to one side of said path for removing the remaining tape from said bags after they have closed to separate the latter and means for ejecting said separated bags from said machine.

A machine of the character described for filling prefabricated bags connected together in a chain by a longitudinal tape and having a self-stick coating around the inner surface of the mouth thereof, said machine comprising means for advancing said tape and the bags connected thereto, means coacting with said tape successively to open the mouths of said bags, means in the path of movement of said bags for delivering .predetermined amounts of material to said bags in succession and means for applying pressure to the mouth walls of said bagsto press the latter together to close and seal said bags.

A machine of the character described for filling prefabricated bags connected together 1n a chain by means of a long tudinal tape spot sealed by a reactivatable delayed action thermoplastic ad acent the mouthsof the of material to said bags in succession, means for applying 'nected thereto, means coacting with said tape successively to open the mouths of said bags, means in the path of movement of said bags for delivering predetermined amounts of material to said bags in succession and means for applying pressure to the mouth walls of said bags, said means comprising a roller on which the mouth of said bag is positioned and a sealing member movable against the mouth of said bag to press said mouth walls together against said roller to close and seal said bags.

7. A machine of the character described for filling prefabricated bags connected together in a chain by a longitudinal tape and having a thermoplastic portion around the mouth thereof, said machine comprising means for advancing said tape and the bags connected thereto, means coacting with said tape successively to open the mouths of said bags, means in the path of movement of said bags for delivering predetermined amounts of material to said bags in succession, means for applying heat and pressure to the mouth walls of said bags, said means comprising a roller on which the mouth of said bags is successively positioned, means to heat said roller, a sealing member in close proximity to said roller, means to heat said sealing member, said sealing member being movable against the mouth walls of said bag to press said mouth walls together against said roller to close and seal said bags.

8. A machine of the character described for filling prefabricated bags connected together in a chain by a longitudinal tape and having a self-stick coating around the inner surface of the mouth thereof, said machine comprising means for advancing said tape and the bags connected thereto, means coacting with said tape successively to open the mouths of said bags, means in the path of movement of said bags for delivering predetermined amounts of material to said bags in succession, means for applying pressure to the mouth walls of said bags, said means comprising a roller on which the mouth of said bagis positioned and a drum having a plurality of spaced sealing members projecting radially outward from the periphery of said drum and transversely thereacross, said drum being rotatable whereby said sealing member may successively be moved against the mouth of said bags to press said mouth walls together against said roller to close and seal said bags.

9. A machine for filling prefabricated bag means connected together in a chain by a pair of tapes one on each of the outer faces of said bag means, said machine having mounted thereon means for filling bags, spaced means for engaging continuous tapes secured to the outer faces of the bag means and feeding the tape and bag means to the filling means. means mounting the engaging means beneath the filling means and in spaced relation whereby the engaging means will advance the bag means to the filling means with the sides of the bag means spaced apart beneath the filling means, means to cause the filling means to introduce material into the bag means while the sides of the bag means are spaced apart, and means to move the bag means from the filling means.

10. A machine for filling prefabricated bag means connected together in a chain by a pair of tapes one on each of the outer faces of said bag means, said machine having mounted thereon means for filling bags, rollers spaced upon opposite sides of the filling means to engage the tapes, means to turn the rollers to cause the tapes to advance the bags to the filling means with the sides of the bags spaced apart beneath the filling means, means to cause the filling means to introduce material into the bag means while the sides of the bag means are spaced apart, and means to move the bag means from the filling means.

11. A machine for filling prefabricated bag means connected together in a chain by a pair of tapes one on each of the outer faces of said bag means, said machine having mounted thereon means for filling bags, rollers spaced upon opposite sides of the filling means, register pins on the rollers to engage the tapes, means to turn the rollers to cause the tapes to advance the bags to the filling means with the sides of the bags spaced apart beneath the filling means, means to cause the filling means to introduce material into the bag means while the sides of the bag means are spaced apart, and means to move the bag means from the filling means.

12. A machine for filling prefabricated bag means connected together in a chain by a pair of tapes one on each of the outer faces of said bag means, said machine having mounted thereon means for filling bags, spaced means for engaging continuous tapes secured to the outer faces of the bag means and feeding the tape and bag means to the filling means, means mounting the engaging means beneath the filling means and in spaced relation to advance the bag means to the filling means with the sides of the bag means spaced apart beneath the filling means, means to cause the filling means to introduce material into the bag means while the sides of the bag means are spaced apart, means spaced outwardly from said engaging means to remove the tapes from the engaging means in a direction different from the path of movement of the bag means, and means to move the bag means from the filling means.

13. Mechanism for filling prefabricated bag means connected together in a chain by a pair of tapes one on each of the outer faces of said bag means, said mechanism comprising a machine having means for filling bags, rollers spaced upon opposite sides of the filling means for engaging the tapes and advancing the bags to the filling means with the sides of the bags spaced apart beneath the filling means, means for driving the tape engaging means, and means to cause the filling means to introduce material into the bag means while the sides of the bags are spaced apart.

14. Mechanism for filling prefabricated bag means connected together in a chain by a pair of tapes one on each of the outer faces of said bag means, said mechanism comprising a machine having means for filling bags, rollers spaced upon opposite sides of the filling means for engaging the tapes and advancing the bags to the filling means with the sides of the bags spaced apart beneath the filling means, means on the rollers to heat the tapes, means for driving the tape engaging means, and means to cause the filling means to introduce material into the bag means while the sides of the bag means are spaced apart.

Bowden June 14, 1904 Armbruster Nov. 25, 1913 

